


The Allure of the Middle Aged Man

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2431181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s the car isn’t it? Women go for the hot wheels, don’t they?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Allure of the Middle Aged Man

“Here, taste it.”

 

“No!” Emily squealed, waving her hands in front of her face. “No, Jason!”

 

“C'mon, it’s good for you. Just eat it!”

 

“No.” she could not move back any further. “Oh Jason, stop.” she laughed.

 

Her whole team sat around the table laughing.

 

“I’ll eat it.” Hotch grabbed the eel from the fork and swallowed it.

 

“Eww.” Garcia cringed.

 

“You’ve lived all over the world, Prentiss,” Derek said laughing. “I would think you can handle a little eel.”

 

“Forgive me but I do not eat food that is still moving.” She replied. “Even with provocation.” She punched Gideon’s arm.

 

He smiled, looking at Hotch.

 

“Was it good?” he asked.

 

“Excellent. You're missing a good thing, Emily.”

 

“I’ll take your word for it.”

 

“Good idea, sweetie.” Garcia said.

 

They all laughed. Hotch watched her glance at Gideon, who wiggled his eyebrows like Groucho Marx. It only made her laugh more.

 

“Who wants dessert?” Hotch asked.

 

“As long as it’s not alive and I can have ice cream, count me in.” Emily replied.

 

Jason flagged the server for dessert menus. The team was having dinner at Madame Butterfly, on the outskirts of Georgetown. They had been on more than one occasion to the low-key Japanese place. It was Friday, they made it to the weekend, and they wanted to celebrate. When the server returned, he was carrying a giant birthday cake. Gideon looked around, his eyes stopping on Emily. She started to sing and the whole team chimed in.

 

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday dear Gideon_

_Happy Birthday to you_

 

“And many more!” Derek added.

 

“I did not want this.” Jason grumbled, staring at the cake.

 

“Who doesn’t like birthday cake?” JJ asked.

 

“Yeah Gideon, don’t be a downer.” Emily said.

 

“Blow out the candles.” Reid and Garcia said in unison.

 

“I guess I had better before we burn the place down. Whose idea was it to put all 52 candles on the cake?”

 

“I think that was Morgan’s.” Hotch replied.

 

“They were concerned about the fire hazard but I assured them you needed a hundred before a fire fighter needs to be present.”

 

“Cute.”

 

“Oh c'mon.” Emily touched his shoulder. “Make a wish and blow them out.”

 

“Don’t tell us or it won't come true.” Reid jumped in.

 

“OK, OK.” Gideon closed his eyes. He blew out the candles and they all cheered. JJ leaned over and kissed his cheek. Garcia followed and then Emily, who blushed slightly when it was her turn. When Derek attempted to, Gideon laughed and pushed him away.

 

“Don’t look at me,” Hotch said. “I don’t wanna kiss you. Who wants cake?”

 

“I know the job can be stressful man,” Derek put his hand on Hotch’s shoulder. “But I don’t like the way you're holding that knife.”

***

They all left the restaurant laughing. It was rare, they knew it, and planned to enjoy every moment. Hotch looked at his watch as he made his way back to his truck.

 

“Anyone need a ride?” he asked.

 

“I got JJ, Garcia, and Reid.” Derek said. “You're going back to Alexandria…we don’t want to take you out of your way.”

 

“You're going to Chevy Chase.” Hotch reasoned.

 

“Not tonight man.”

 

“Ah, enough said. Prentiss?”

 

“Gideon’s giving me a ride; we’re not far from each other. Thanks though.”

 

“It’s the car isn’t it? Women go for the hot wheels.” Hotch asked.

 

“Most of the time. Goodnight, Hotch.”

 

He waved, heading off in a separate direction from the rest of the group. Gideon tossed the keys to Emily. She looked at him with wide eyes.

 

“Seriously?”

 

“You will have to drive the speed limit, I'm afraid. The District can be busy on a Friday night.”

 

“I don’t care…I'm driving.”

 

“Yes you are.”

 

Emily unlocked the passenger side door and Jason climbed in. She got in on the driver’s side, sliding the key into the ignition. NPR came from the speakers but Emily nixed that. Flipping around, she didn’t stop until she heard Stevie Nicks.

 

_I can see we’re thinking bout the same thing_

_Yes, I see your expression when the phone rings_

_We both know there's something happening here_

_There’s no sense in dancing round the subject_

_A wound gets worse when it’s treated with neglect_

_So don’t turn around there's nothing here to fear_

 

“Did you have a nice birthday?” she asked, glancing at Jason before pulling out of the parking lot.

 

“I survived. The cake was actually very delicious. I've never been overly fond of surprises.”

 

“Oh c'mon Jason, it’s your birthday and we went out to dinner. You didn’t expect cake?”

 

“It’s Friday and we all went out to dinner. I just assumed it was a testament to us all spending too much time together. Other than the small trinkets found in my office upon arrival this morning no one mentioned it. I thought all of the negative reinforcement finally worked.”

 

“Wrong,” Emily replied laughing. “Hotch has been planning this for weeks.”

 

“So he’s to blame?”

 

“Pretty much.”

 

“Well there is one thing that’s exciting about this evening.” Jason said.

 

“What's that?”

 

“I plan to go home and take my sweet time unwrapping my gift.”

 

Emily smiled. It grew even more when Jason stroked her hand on the steering wheel.

 

“There might be a lot of layers before you get to what you want.” she replied.

 

“I am a patient man, Katya. There will be something special at each layer until I reach the sweet spot. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday because I don’t think I'm getting much sleep tonight.”

 

“Don’t you middle aged guys usually go to bed early?”

 

“When there is nothing on TV. I have just received word that the late show tonight is a can't miss. It will be worth my exhaustion in the morning.”

 

“You're damn right it will.”

 

Gideon whistled the birthday song as Emily turned the car onto his street. Her hand came off the steering wheel, stroking his thigh. Jason’s hand fell over hers; their fingers laced together. Just a few more minutes and he would be a very happy birthday boy indeed.

***


End file.
